Brotherly Love
by Charlett
Summary: Ever since his step mother ran away with another man, Oscar was unable to do anything but work hard to feed his little brothers, Boyd and Rolf. With his father deceased, there is little else to do. He refuses to lose his precious treasures.


Tellius Fire Emblem was never my favorite FE universe (mostly because Ike is a hypocrite and an idiot), but one of the saving graces was definitely the green brothers. The complete brotherly love of Oscar and his little brothers is definitely one of the best parts of the game. I'm really happy that all three turned out so well in my most recent playthrough of PoR (Another weird thing; they can't support with each other in Path of Radiance! Seriously who thought that up?)

Anyway, thinking about them for a while made me decide that maybe I should write for them a bit. So here we are!

(Slight Edits have been done since the first upload. It is by no means still perfect and I'm still working on some of it, but things have been reworked slightly, thanks to friends and critique-rs. Hopefully I'll work on it even more, thanks!)

Read On!

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><p>A young man looked at the small one room cottage that was slowly being devoured by the ivy that grew all around and into the wood. It was too short for him to stand upright in, it was structurally unsound, and it leaked furiously during rain, so much so that its inhabitants had to build shelters within the cottage simply to keep moist rather than drenched. Oscar sighed and looked up at his horse. Said horse looked back down at the young man in armor. "We're home," he said to no one in particular.<p>

His horse snorted and Oscar smiled brightly. "Yes, I agree, it is unbecoming of me to be melancholy." The young man set his horse in front of the cottage with a sigh. He would have tied him to the front, or even placed him in the small shed behind the cottage, but the shed was crumbling and the horse wouldn't fit inside, and the wood was too weak to hold him in place anyway. Oscar had thought of leaving the horse at the castle and just walking home, but the last time he tried that, his mount followed him home with a rather disgusted snort. Since then, he had just brought the stallion home with him, as the horse seemed perfectly contented to stay outside in the cold and the rain. It wasn't like being inside protected Oscar from the elements anyway. "Will you be okay out here?" The horse snorted at his owner, and Oscar took a deep breath and entered his home. "Boyd, I'm home."

"I heard you out front. Welcome back, Oscar!" Boyd was a bean spout with a childlike exuberance that even the ever smiling Oscar sometimes found uncontrollable, especially when the child ended up bouncing off the walls when he got riled up. It didn't matter how energetic he was though, as seeing Boyd that healthy made Oscar happy enough that he didn't have to pretend his smile was real. Slung over the younger brother's shoulder like a sling was a cloth that held a sleeping child, and Boyd was using one of his hands to help support the baby. "I've been taking care of Rolf while you were gone, and he's doing fine! He cried for nearly an hour straight when you left, so he's much healthier than last week. How is everything?"

"I'm doing well. I picked up a few things from the market," Oscar said, gesturing outside where the groceries sat in his horse's saddlebags. Boyd made a face, because by now, whenever Oscar said "things", he only meant one thing: potatoes for soup. "One of our traps caught a rabbit, too; I picked it up on the way home."

"Really?" Boyd asked, his smile widening further than most would believe possible, "Great! It'll make the soup much tastier!"

Oscar frowned and shook his head slowly. "No, Boyd. Potato soup is fine without anything added to it. If we smoke the rabbit, we can save it for later, alright?"

Boyd's smile faded for a moment and he huffed. "Fine, I'll start getting it ready then."

"Thanks. If you got the fire started while I was away, I can take Rolf." Boyd nodded, and the two worked laboriously to remove the sling from Boyd and place it around Oscar without waking the child. The two had lots of trouble trying not to upset their baby brother when they first started taking care of the baby and their now deceased father, but they were getting used to it now, and soon Rolf was being supported by his eldest brother, sleeping soundly with three tiny knuckles in his mouth. Boyd, meanwhile, jogged out of the cottage to collect the potatoes for Oscar and then get the rabbit to skin. As he did so, Oscar checked the small dilapidated chimney where Boyd had been stoking a fire that kept the water heating. It would soon be ready for the potatoes that were bought previously, and…

"I got the potatoes," Boyd said, interrupting his brother's thoughts. Oscar turned to his brother absently and took the bag with a "thanks". Boyd cocked his head. "Are you alright, Brother?"

"Hmm?" Oscar looked up at Boyd and smiled, "Of course I'm fine. You should go prepare the rabbit. I'll have dinner ready soon."

Boyd made a face. "Take your time; I think I'm going to throw up if I see another stupid potato." The brothers were interrupted when Boyd's stomach grumbled, and Oscar's smile widened. "Yeah yeah! Laugh it up!" Boyd shouted as Oscar laughed out loud, bouncing Rolf as he did so, "Goddess take you, if you actually made money as a stupid knight then maybe we wouldn't be living off of potatoes all the time!"

Boyd covered his mouth with both his hands when Oscar immediately stopped laughing and stared at him with lips that pressed in a small, thin line that betrayed his hurt. The eldest brother tried hard to keep smiling, but the way his eyebrows upturned showed that his little brother had struck a nerve. "I… I'm sorry, Boyd," Oscar murmured, "I know I can't make that much, but I didn't know you felt that way…"

"No, No Oscar I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it!" Boyd said suddenly. He reached out to grab his brother's arm but stopped so as not to upset Rolf, and the middle brother retreated with a sob that caught in his throat (he couldn't let it out, he was too old to cry!) He wasn't too old to apologize, though. "I'm so so so sorry! I didn't…!"

"No, it's fine, you're right," Oscar said, turning away and returning to the fire, partially so it wouldn't get cold, partially to keep from looking at his little brother, "I shouldn't be so happy with my peers when my brothers are struggling. I've been selfish. I'm sorry, I…"

Boyd shook with rage, not at Oscar but at himself and their step-mother, the one that trapped them in this position. "Shut up! Shut up shut up!" Boyd shouted, and the middle child heard his little brother wake up and start crying. Oscar ignored Boyd, instead focusing on the little child in his arms, and Boyd rubbed harshly at his eyelids in a vain attempt to stop his tears. "It's not your fault, Oscar! It's that witch who ran away and left us alone! It's those stupid nobles too! If they just gave you more money, we wouldn't be starving! It's all their fault!" Oscar didn't reply, and Boyd screamed angrily and rushed out of the decrepit house.

"Shh, shh, Rolf, it's okay, everything's fine. Shh…" Oscar smiled and cupped Rolf's tiny face in his large, scarred free hand to calm his brother down. The potatoes, fire, and water could wait; nothing was more important than his little brother. He only had shared half of Oscar's blood, but the knight loved him just as much as a full blooded brother, just like Boyd. He rubbed his little brother's soft cheek, wiping away his tears, and Rolf grasped Oscar's thumb and jammed it into his mouth. The eldest stared at his brother and suddenly realized that: "Oh Goddess, you're teething now too?" he groaned. They didn't have anything he could safely teethe on. He'd have to carve something from a wood that wouldn't splinter later. He looked around for something else that would be useful until then. Aha, a spoon! It wouldn't be great for long, but it would work in a pinch. With expert, deft hands that proved he had worked with Rolf, and perhaps even Boyd at some point, before, he picked up the spoon in between his pinky and ring finger and twirled it about until it was in his palm.

"Here Rolf, this is better. Do you like that?" Oscar smiled as Rolf jammed the end of the spoon in his mouth and chewed voraciously, gurgling happily and drooling down his cheeks and into his hair and the cloth that held him. There! Now Oscar could work on dinner. He just hoped he could have it finished by the time Boyd finished preparing the rabbit for smoking.

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><p>Dinner was a casual affair. The brothers had very little since their step-mother ran off with most of the items she had brought from her home, but the things they did have sufficed. There was only one problem: "Ewww!" Boyd groaned, "You gave Rolf my spoon!"<p>

Oscar blinked at the wooden spoon in Rolf's mouth, and he just noticed at that moment that it was the one that Boyd had carved his name into. "Oh no, I'm sorry, Boyd. I wasn't looking."

"Of course," Boyd said, crossing his arms as he sat at the table on a chair that threatened to break under him, "At least I don't give Rolf your stuff when you're working."

"You can use my spoon, if you want," Oscar said. It was a gracious offer; Oscar's spoon was the only one that went to the castle, and therefore was the only one that was able to be washed with soap after Oscar's lunches.

"So you'll eat with what? With Rolf's spoon? Then what's the point of having my name on my spoon if all we do is keep passing it around everywhere?"

"It's only for tonight. I'll bring all three spoons with me to the castle tomorrow, and then I'll wash them all. I know my annual washing will be a little early today, but I think Kieran will cover for me. He's a great friend."

Boyd practically pouted. "Fine. I don't even care anymore." His stomach rumbled again, which explained to Oscar why the middle child was willing to let everything slide. Oscar smiled and placed the bowl in front of his little brother with a proud smile on his face.

"I added a little something special today, to apologize," Oscar said with a non-existent wink. Boyd could smell the surprise immediately. Glorious, heavenly salt! There had only been a tiny pinch in the entire cauldron, but that much made everything taste so much better! The middle child went to town so quickly that Oscar barely had enough time to spoon a bowl out to feed Rolf before Boyd was asking for seconds.

"Oh?" Oscar asked, "Of course, just a moment." Oscar sat down to spoon a few mouthfuls into Rolf's mouth with Boyd's spoon. "I'm glad you like it, Boyd. I was afraid…"

"Don't say anything. I was wrong," Boyd said when he looked up, "I love your food, even if it's bland! It's not your fault you don't have a bunch of ingredients to use, you make the best soups, no, the best food ever!"

Oscar smiled to himself as Rolf took another spoonful of soup. "Thank you, Boyd. It… it means a lot to me."

"Of course!" Boyd shouted, "I'm going to get my own bowl, and then I can take Rolf. You need to smoke the rabbit, right?" Oscar seemed melancholy as he fed Rolf, and Boyd cocked his head as he filled his bowl. "Are you sure you're okay, Brother?"

"Yes," Oscar said automatically, "I was just thinking of what we're going to do. I was thinking…" He looked up at his little brother and cocked his head, "I met Mister Greil in town today. He complimented me on my lance work; he saw it last week when we were doing a routine sweep through the countryside."

"Greil? Isn't he the leader of that mercenary group, the one with that stuck up, annoying kid? What was his naaame…" Boyd played with the spoon in his mouth until he came up with it. "Ike! That was it. Ike and his pretty sister, Mist."

"Aye, that's the one," Oscar replied, "Mister Greil had complimented me, and I am ashamed to admit that I eavesdropped on his and Miss Titania's conversation while they were in the market. Can you believe that he gave her nearly five hundred gold for the work she did?" Boyd nearly swallowed his spoon, "That's more than twice what I get at the castle, weekly!"

"Bah," Boyd muttered, leaning on the table with his fist on his cheek, "that's only because she's a woman. I bet Greil plays favorites all the time. It's not fair, if only I was a little older, I could beat up bandits and get money for the three of us too."

"Yes, I suppose that's the case. She is the second-in-command. There's no way that his younger mercenaries get that much money too." Despite Oscar's words, the way he trailed off showed he was thinking deeply about something that would soon cause a great change in the brothers' world.

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><p>Dinner was over and done soon after that, and Oscar worked deep into the night smoking the rabbit. It took many hours to do so, and eventually the only light he had was the glowing of the fire and the light inside the house. Oscar checked the moon; it was far too late for Boyd to be up. What was the boy doing? Eventually, when all was said and done and his work was finished, the young knight re-entered his home tired, weak, and sore. Boyd's smiling face and Rolf's calm sleeping face made his heart melt (he really couldn't stay angry at his little brother when he was this personable), and he approached his little brothers. "Shouldn't you be in bed already?"<p>

"I know, I know. It's just that it's been really cold the last few nights. The blanket isn't enough for Rolf and me." Boyd rocked back and forth on the rocking chair he was seated in, and he looked up. "Brother, will you sleep with us? I know the bed's small, but I don't want Rolf to get sick again…"

Oscar sighed. Boyd couldn't hide his real feelings from his older brother; the middle child was still getting nightmares of abandonment, and all of Oscar's attempts to wean his little brother off of sleeping in the same bed were beginning to be for naught, as winter was coming in, and Boyd had a point. "You're going to have to sleep alone at some point, Boyd."

"I know, I know! But…" Boyd hugged the sleeping Rolf close to him, "…but if you're not with me, when I go to sleep… he won't stop dying. Please, Brother…?"

Oscar sighed and reached out to take Rolf. "Go get yourself ready; let's see how this turns out tonight."

The autumn nights were getting very cold; Oscar knew that Boyd was right; their ratty blanket wouldn't keep them warm on their own. At this rate, they would freeze to death before they starved. He took a deep breath and walked up to the bed where they nursed their father before his death. The straw mattress was dirty and probably was what caused Rolf's previous sickness in the first place, but the floor was worse and harbored more insects than the bed bugs that frequented their bed. "Dear Goddess, what would you have me do…?" he murmured to himself, "If there's a way to save my brothers, would you show me the path to take?"

"Brother, I'm ready." Oscar turned and smiled at his little brother, who was dressed in his night shift and socks, and the brothers smiled at each other. Oscar sat on the bed and Boyd crawled up to sit next to him and smile at Rolf. "I miss when you told me stories in your lap. Sometimes I get jealous that Rolf gets your lap now."

"Then you can be the one who tells the stories while he sits on your lap, right?" Oscar said with a smile. Boyd let out a breath as he stretched out and flopped onto the bed, and Oscar tossed himself back as well, so the brothers were lying on the bed next to each other, with their half-brother snuggled on top of the eldest.

"Hey Brother?" Boyd said, turning on his side to face his older brother.

"Yeah, Boyd?" Oscar replied, twisting to help Rolf rest in between his half-brothers.

It was too dark to see his movements very well, but Oscar could tell that Boyd was fiddling with a piece of straw that stuck up from the mattress. "I'm sorry for what I said today, before dinner. I didn't mean it. I just want you to know that no matter what happens, no matter what I say, I'm so happy you're my brother. If Rolf could speak very well, I'm sure he'd say the same thing." Oscar stared at Boyd for a moment, and his little brother yawned widely and grabbed the blanket, tossing it over the three of them and snuggling close to Rolf to keep the little boy warm. "Night, Brother."

Oscar did not reply; the darkness was hiding his face, and Rolf was keeping Boyd from being able to feel his heaving, quiet sobs. Oscar reached out with his long arm, wrapped it around his little brother's shoulder, and squeezed. "N-night, my little baby brothers."

His mind was made up; there was only one thing to do to keep his most precious treasures alive. Oscar would go to meet with Greil tomorrow morning.

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><p>The hardest part was finding a good age to have this in. All I can say here is that children start teething around 4-7 months old (really late bloomers might do so around a year), so that might tell how old the other two are relative to that. The biggest problem of course is that Rolf and Boyd's ages are never revealed, and only Oscar's is during Path of Radiance. Therefore it was really troublesome to write a story around characters whose ages are kind of weird. I like to think of certain ages for characters here but honestly it really should be up to the reader by this point because I am an idiot and not very good at this "time frame" thing, but I digress.<p>

Hope you liked it! Shoot me a review telling me what you like or disliked, please~ I always love critique!


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